For pop icon Dwight Twilley, Soundtrack is an autobiography, not unlike Ringo Starr’s reminiscing on Liverpool 8. It opens with “You Close Your Eyes,” which closely resembles those early hits that mirrored Tom Petty’s work with layered rhythm guitars and ascending bass lines.The album standout “Bus Ticket” has more lyrical muscle with honky-tonk memories and a kick ass guitar solo. The morose themes of “My Life,” “Skeleton Man” and “The Cards Will Fall” drive home the message that “Life is a short journey so you better get it right.” But overall the look back is affectionate and grateful on the title track and “The Lonely One.”

The album is also a tribute to his former partners Phil Seymour (on “Good Things Come Hard,”) and long time lead guitarist Bill Pitcock IV (on “The Last Time Around”). Twilley fans will hear echos of Sincerely in spots and although not as immediate as The Green Blimp, it still packs plenty of punch.

Athens, Georgia band Doctor Squid returns with a more measured tone compared to its debut album. The subtle building guitar strums of “Through Your Eyes” come across like a mix of Field Music and Weezer with its upbeat minor chords. The harmonies that open “Regret It and Let It” are similar to The Davenports, with its poppy backing vocals and steady riffs in the chorus. The band has definitely matured here, with more deliberate melodies and well crafted harmonies (like on “As Soon As I Discern” and “Rock Solid”).

The apparent solemn ballad “Come Around” is almost a intermission for the listener between all the heavier, faster tunes. Nothing here is that predictable, and it moves in a slight alternative direction, “To The Snow” changes tempo midway through the song and then switches back. Another approach to the songwriting is starting slow and building to a guitar frenzied chorus. This all makes for totally enjoyable listening, although it wanes toward the albums end with the weary anthem “Through Any Eyes.” It’s just great to find a young band carrying the torch of melodic rock and roll. Enjoy this FREE track “Rock Solid”.

The Hangabouts “Illustrated Bird”
This Michigan based pop duo (John and Greg) produce a varied mixture of pop styles sure to impress. The sound is sparse and with two acoustic guitars and gentle two part harmonies. The understated opener “Love Nothing” compares well to The Cyrkle and with the repeating chorus “Come and see me, yeah anyday.” The Beatlesque “Doctor Dragon” would make a perfect companion to “Mean Mr. Mustard,” and the catchy “November” will certainly be repeating in your head. The easy going songwriting style and conversational lyrics are highly reminiscent of Fountains of Wayne or The Davenports on gems like “Go To Sleep” and “Roman Forum.”

Despite the lack of multi-layered polish, the band excels at writing tunes loaded with memorable hooks. Impressive gems like “She Hates You” and “Missing In Action” makes up for the filler here (“Right On Catherine”). I expect these guys to just keep getting better, as this album is well worth your time.

Glenn Tilbrook & Nine Below Zero “The Co-Operative”
Recommended by a popaholic reader, The Co-Operative is essentially Glenn Tilbrook (Squeeze) teaming up with South London R&B band Nine Below Zero. The Co-Operative’s debut consists of five original songs, three covers, and three instrumentals. Glenn certainly sounds like he’s having fun on the pop tune “Chat Line Larry” with it’s bluesy guitar fills, and harmonica solos. Dennis Greaves does lead vocals on “A Little Misunderstanding” and its a hummable Zydeco tune.

All well and good, but Glenn really shines on the ballad “One Day I’ll Fly Away.” A harmonica lead version of The Beatles “You Never Give Me Your Money” is also a highlight. “Because” sounds like it would make a great Lenny Kravitz tune, but Nine Below Zero didn’t make it work for me. The band does a better job on the instrumentals, “After Dinner Speech” features superb instrumentation.  The album has a little bit of everything, but short on hooks that kept my attention. Still it’s always great to hear Glenn, so Squeeze fans come on down!

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